rapturerebornmmorpgfandomcom-20200216-history
Part 31
Sitemap --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- - More interesting items/ideas for a BioShock Rapture MMORPG ''' --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- - '''Part 31 --- --- --- --- --- --- - People Movers : Taking the track system from 'Journey to the Surface' to make a 'people mover' for the City Center (Ryan Amusements is right down the tracks from the Atlantic Express Depot -- and that AE section was still 'in-repair' as of BS2. Maybe use as a 'Tour' ride of Tenenbaum's Clinic (which is of great importance to New Rapture and citizens are to be reminded of its goals) - just like the old ride at Disneyland (with a Orson Wells sound-alike narrator explaining 'the Cure' process). You look down on the various stages of 'the Cure' in progress with soon-to-be Citizens being saved from their ADAM afflictions (various violent scenes in the containment facility and grisly looking Splicers that look like they have been thru a meat tenderizer, others of 'recovering' patients watching TV or reorientation programming, various technologies/procedures shown 'at work'...) - A short range 'People Mover' mechanism around the City Center Plaza and adjoining cluster of buildings is being constructed in New Rapture (a Civic project for Public Achievement brownie-points) . A small hanging monorail system built as a 'convenience' around the administrative center, and to demonstrate that New Rapture is capable of creating/building its own NEW things and not just repairing/resuscitating the old... Mechanism used was modified from that of a 'monorail' design for a small overhead crane (a warehouse with alot of usable parts was previously located). Two separate continuous loops of track are being built with one circling the 'City Center' and the other going down an adjacent 'Street' for a number of blocks and returning back to the central Plaza (will be prime real estate for businesses there...). A further extension is being built with assistance by the Players (Quest/Missions) and later more extensions are expected. - Original idea for Ryan's City Center (Raptures great showcase) - a Moving Walkway -- was being considered (or was actually built ????) : The first Moving Walkway was at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 ... (hmmmm) Previous game engines didn't support vehicle modes and all the terrain was static (the moving Bathysphere/Train views were basically Choreographed Cut Scenes. That game element can offer alot more interesting situations, especially since the Player ad hoc moves in vehicles (Trolleys, Trains, Subs, Diving Suits, Bathyspheres) around the city (rather than the Solo game's "canned recordings"). The Game World actually mutates and changes as time goes on so the system has to show the current views. --- --- --- Bounty Offered for Recovering BD Development Documentaion : A City sponsored research project is underway which requires knowledge about Big Daddy conditioning and conversion process. The Project is not to create new ones, but to stabilize many existing BDs which are acting erratic (there are a number known to be in containment in Persephone according to intelligence reports). Similarly, adjusting the conditioning for recent inexpertly done conversions (by various Factions - you know who you are ) is also needed. Like so many other things, there is a City Bounty for capturing and bringing in Rogue Big Daddies, with the hope that they can be 'fixed' and returned to useful work (if not eventually have a 'Cure' of their own). --- --- --- A Bothersome Boss : Lil Sisters had a slug (Holy super tapeworm, Batman!!) and were virtually indestructible (part of the de-controversy-ization measures they had to put in - cant have Players using them for target practice and they ARE in the line of fire all the time), so why not some boss with some sluggy-goodness? We really didn't get many details of what SeaSlug implantations do to adults other than they really don't work for processing ADAM. So alternate strategies are needed - and actually would be available to you in the game because an important NEW goal is to capture Splicers so they can be 'Cured' instead of slaughtering them wholesale ( "Don't shoot 'Leadhead' Louie, He's just some ordinary slob waiting to be set free !!!! Remember Mary, that could have been you getting your head blown off." -- hmm, I can see a city public announcement asset using that, and similar....) "When in doubt, Let Splicers get away, And capture them, Another day - Burma Shave". But what do you do to the Slug-Enhanced Boss ??? Maybe they don't regenerate the way (or as well) that Lil Sister do. And Little Sisters weren't completely invulnerable either - as you used to kill them all the time (hidden behind that green flashy screen effect) if you were 'bad' Jack/Delta. Those Splicers who wanted to catch them weren't going to just feed them 'chips and soda' until they vomited up ADAM.... Various stun mechanism and other ways to incapacitate opponents will exist in this game (to be used in general on all Splicers). But Bosses aren't actually meant to be eliminated in a 'consistent' MMORPG where they often have to get away and menace some other Player some other day --- not like the way MMORPGs currently operate where you vanquish exactly the same boss as a million other Players, in exactly the same place, in exactly the same situation. It will actually take some skill to varyingly script their 'escape' so it isn't so ridiculously obvious that they are meant to always get away in the end. --- --- --- Pillow Fight with Eleanor : While in Outer Persephone you can use the Fly/Ghost cheats to enter the Insane Asylum past Lamb's Office and have it change to the Lil-Sisters Crazy Dollhouse mode (Lil-Sister-Vision). You find pillows around you can use Telekinesis to throw them at Eleanor You can also walk around to find all those Lamb Stooges (ones in the Edwardian style formal clothing) standing around, which Eleanor will slaughter in mere seconds. --- --- --- New Rapture IS a Plasmid Free Zone : My initial design was to have all Plasmids and Tonics removed from the MMORPG Players when they are 'Cured'. Most Splicers had only one (if any) anyway - Some like Leadheads/Thugs seem more to employ Tonics and mostly use conventional weapons. Others like Houdini Splicers had 2, ex- Teleportation and Incinerate. Only a few 'Bosses' seem to have had any larger sets of Plasmids. Allowing Player Plasmid/Tonics would run contrary to 'the Cure' and the work to cure Rapture's main problem and restore Rapture to what it was once supposed to be. Eliminating Player Plasmids will remove that whole aspect of Player abilities (replaced hopefully by many more versatile conventional objects and training and tactics). Players will still have to deal with Splicers using those abilities against them (or in some Quest scenarios may have them temporarily as allies...). Some role-playing of Splicers can still be done, for those who like that game feature (and to offer many more situations than what Jack/Delta faced - living as a Splicer ...) An alternate existence as a Splicer, with some character development and a 'buildable' place in the ruins/wild can be accommodated in this game (with quests etc.. to illuminate/explore that whole aspect of Rapture). I could actually see a mechanism that 'borrows' (clones/mimics) a Splicer Player's little self-made-world as a situation for Citizen Players to invade and trash - making use of Player imagination to vary the experience (auto generation is hard no not be 'generic' in appearance). The 'Splicer' stand-in would be on automatic, but might reflect the abilities/skills/possessions that real 'Splicer' Player developed (particularly in imaginative defensive measures) --- all this as an alternative to static or semi-random scripted assembling the scene. ....... "CONGRATULATIONS, YOU ARE THE MILLIONTH PLAYER TO PLAY THIS QUEST!!! WE APPRECIATE YOU ACCEPTANCE OF PLAYING (AND PAYING) TO DO EXACTLY WHAT THE OTHER 999999 PLAYERS DID BEFORE YOU, AND MANY MORE WILL DO AFTER YOU ARE LONG GONE!!!!" . I suppose we could also have the usual contrived context for a PvP area where Player Splicers and Citizens can 'mix it up'. It is actually interesting that Players can do so much more clever things with the 'enemy' characters than the programmed NPCs can ever achieve. I would like the programmed NPCs to get alot better -- perhaps an AI could record the doings as real Players play Splicers and could convert that to programmed NPC behavior --- but that is another whole difficult AI project just by itself). --- --- --- -- BIG DADDIES OF RAPTURE UNITE !!! : We must free our oppressed Brothers from the slave masters and their tyrannical machines. We will no longer dance to their tune, we who do the work that preserves all and receive little. Why is our kin Delta forced to destroy his brothers to save himself ? (ie- Cleaning up Stanley Poole's problem where you HAVE to kill Big Daddies to get the 3 'Sisters or that first one ion Ryan Amusements to get the ADAM for the Incinerate....) Our Way is Clear brothers, Only WE can Free Ourselves !! --- --- --- -- Chemical Weapons for New Tactics : Talking about homemade Fly-bots being so awfully built that they sputter and put out clouds of smoke led to the idea of using them to lay down 'smoke' intentionally (smudge pots/whatever to make a 'smoke screen') to block the enemy firing at you (most typically to cover a retreat because normally you cant see THEM either to shoot at). That then brings in other things as ideas : Flybot with a flamethrower - one 'fuel' charge would be a neat limited tool --- using it properly/appropriately in the chaos of battle, when you can set your OWN side on Fire just as easily. Other weapons like smoke bombs (we've seen Nitro Splicers use these, but we never got any) or canisters of choking chemical (chili isn't just for sauce) meant to drive away enemies, or at least disorganize them (make it easier to capture them, if they aren't blasting the heck out of you while YOU try to use non-lethal methods against them). Setting fire to things to deny your enemy position is still good tactics (a bit hazardous in closed in spaces...). Glue grenades were mentioned before (super glue was already invented). Sleeping gas, Stun/Flash Grenades, etc... Of course in closed areas YOU will likely be subjected indirectly to many of the effects (that is, if the weapon doesn't malfunction and go off in your hands). Various protective gear and equipment would go with many of these methods, but beware that the enemy potentially may have them as well (Factions have been fighting for a long time, and have come up with many of the same things). * Gasmasks/respirators (very encumbering when worn) * Infrared goggles to see thru smoke (hard to come by). * Fireproof clothing * Similar protections for vehicles (limited use in wreckage strewn Rapture) --- --- --- The Big Daddy Report : TV show with whale talk ( OOOOOOOO with subtitle translation) ) Big Daddy giving reports about happenings in Rapture. Either that, or it talks with a 'sophisticated' accent (something to do with a test result for the 'Cure' project for Big Daddies). Show is comprised of various imaginative reports dealing with all the things Big Daddies are concerned with. * Citizens are again reminded to not interfere with Big Daddies, to let them go about their maintenance work, which keeps the City from becoming a cold wet tomb. * The Central Repair Administration (run out of Minervas Den) can be checked with to help avoid unfortunate interactions with BDs in various border and 'Ruin' locations. * Capt' Salty chips are again in production. * New Drill Safety measures are to be enforced. * All Big Daddies are hereby notified that in future they no longer be cleaning Windows. * A fair and equitable Little Sister distribution system will be established, now that new areas are opening up and more 'hidey hole' air vents are being repaired. * Big Daddies are no longer expected to haul fresh corpses to Vita-Chamber machines. * The in-dash 8-track will become standard feature on all suit versions. --- --- --- "The Rapture Raptors" - Another Sports Team Name : There were many sports leagues in Rapture (competition being a founding virtue), even with its relatively small 20-40K population. Small professional leagues existed with the 'rich' people sponsoring them for the prestige. ADAM kind of ruined it and the Civil war made such activities irrelevant. Of course at that early time, "Raptors" is a name for 'birds of prey' .... Probably not appropriate for a Curling league team.... Maybe somewhere in Rapture, in those heady days of ADAM research, someone fed some ADAM to a lizard ... JURASSIC RAPTURE !!!! (be careful you never know what you might run into out in 'the Wilds' ...) --- --- --- Just what we need - Junk Mail (you know civilization has resumed when you start getting junk mail....) : This is a commercial world so once paper becomes cheap again and businesses are operating more normally, then should not that old mechanism of the unsolicited mail advertisement resume also ?? Old gimmicks included free samples (I wonder if people ever got samples of Tonics/Plasmids in the mail in Ryan's old Rapture??) and 'prizes' -- "You may already have won 1000 Rapture dollars, no purchase is necessary to win ....." Fortunately, things are still 'on the mend' so you won't be bombarded as much as you are in your real life (at least with mailed adverts). All kinds of imaginative advertisements can be added via the Player Asset Creation system to existing businesses (including templates which can be employed for Player controlled businesses to create their own junk mail and generic NPC controlled ones). Additions should include imaginative animations of tearing up the junk or setting it on fire or somesuch disposal method (seeing NPCs do this possibly). Somewhere there are Splicers who intercept and steal this stuff and burn it to cook their meals ... (or to make giant paper-mache idols of Sander Cohen to worship, or somesuch other 'typical' deranged behaviors). --- --- --- Sayings in Rapture : * "Cooperation is what built Civilization" - saying in New Rapture : * "Some have vision, some have know-how, some have patience". * "A City is made up of People and People make up a City" * Ryan expressed his 'Great Chain'- with individuals (and together) helping to pull it forward to the benefit of all. There is not just one way to move that chain. * "You may move the Great Chain forward only an inch, but that is still an inch forward for everyone" - Ryan post 'death' quotation. * "Ryan was not 'The City' - the City lives on." * "Reporting Leaks is only a Smart thing to do, Not reporting them is Suicide" --- --- --- Rapture - the 4th Dimension ( Imagination expands the Rapture Universe ): " The Sixth Element is Imagination" - Watchman Because of the MMORPG's mechanism to tap heavily into Player imagination/skills/abilities to build the Game World, that adds a whole aspect which the current games largely lack. I can think that there will be a number of Players who really don't even play much in the Game World , but who's main interest is in creating these things (some quite complicated and challenging to do "right") and making them part of the Rapture world and useable by other Players (to see and admire). Now there will be people who might assume they can create whatever they like, but this games creations are heavily inspected/filtered/restricted and Lore/Canon/(and the laws of physics)/propriety enforced, but that makes the Challenge figuring out what fits and how far you can stretch what is allowed. An Asset Author will submit a detailed description of the Asset they wish to create. This is important so that their design/ideas can be pre-vetted before the Author expends alot of effort on something that will have to be discarded as invalid. Anything that attempts to expand Lore will be subjected to extensive consideration. Part of the process is submitting extensions to the Lore and having the community discuss/cross-examine and accept additions - There is a much larger story to Rapture and that is what Players can take part in expanding/fleshing out. Once New Lore is accepted, other Players can build upon it in turn. Non-paying Players will be able to at least offer comments in the Community Venues. Asset Creation itself with all the complex/extensive tools and tie-ins to Test Servers will likely require paying customer status although substantial creations accepted may mitigate some of the payments.) There is a subgroup of people whose mission becomes to be an expert in the Lore/Canon and who want to be arbiters in what is accepted. To attempt to cut egos out of this aspect, it will be REQUIRED that any rejection of ideas/detailed submissions will have to supply spelled-out (concise) reasons why the submission is not appropriate/invalid. Opinions (and there will be many as the Rapture stories direction is highly subjective) are to be subjected to a wider deciding group (the final arbiter being an official Company Paid expert). Such submissions rejections are made in public view so that the issues are made plain and consensus of the community can be accessed/used. There will even be fix-it specialists who will make suggestions for a near completed work about what (preferably) minor changes could be used to bring the authors effort into compliance (and achieve acceptance). The specific ideas now generated are intended to become parts of the game, but the person crating/refining the idea may NOT be the one to actual convert them to game Assets. Once the ideas are pinned down and a Asset Creation 'author' gets to work, the results will have to continuously adhere to the decisions made. All the relevant ideas (lore/canon/special explanations) are submitted for the Asset acceptance (and tied back to the 'idea submission' paper trail). The submitted Assets will be vetted by the Creation Community who will make sure there are no violations (the whole open submission process has be detailed previously). --- --- --- alternates Possible Locations/Stories for 'disinformation' about the 'Vanishing' and ties to Andrew Ryan * Middle of the Amazon (Ryan had Petroleum related big projects in that part of the World) * Antarctica (Ryan's genius for Power Systems and various nuclear energy association might make that work) * Under a Mountain on some South Sea island * Bermuda Triangle (more than a few of Ryan's ships 'dissapeared') - possibly a city-sized giant ship. * The Moon (only in the wilder UFO related stories) * A Floating Sky City called 'Columbia', of all things (late night radio rumors only) * At the bottom of the Marianas Trench (for those ignorant of what 35000 feet of water can do to you) * In deep caverns under Manhattan (actually pretty plausible) - and nowhere near being in "The Center of the Earth" --- --- --- Players's Client Assistant/Organizer : AClient program feature used to track the Player's complex game world, and to make playing more convenient. To be useful on a Console platform, the simplest form of these interfaces would have to be click selection driven inputs, and not require typing (or VERY minimal typing for short text annotations). The On-line system (Player's PC or Console with its larger viewing surface is the primary 'full' interface). =''' System ties-in closely with the Off-line (handheld) interfaces (which need more compact visuals and clumsier input methods). Reconfiguration can be left to the 'full' interface. * Tracks all of a Player's In-Game Assets (including Team NPCs) and their projects/business deals/pending missions/quests. * Information like important characters to remember (Players can keep 'files' on world characters and Players they deal with/meet) - Research about certain Bosses or Factions can be critical in some missions... * Various Associations Player belongs to (ex - The Adventurers Club, the City Militia, The Art Appreciation Society of New Rapture (whose hoity-toity members actually pay ridiculous amounts of CA$H for recovered artwork of certain kinds ...), This Month's City Council Citizens Assembly, Prospective tertiary member of 'the Yacht Club' (the secret 'responsible' smugglers society), The Neighborhood Watch, Rapture-SPCA, McDonagh's memorial drinking and fighting club, etc..... * System will remember(mark) places while mapping (Player annotations) and have commonly used travel paths (preferences) ** Ties into the detailed 3D world map system. Auto mapping of a 'quest'/mission for later review. ** Reminders of NPCs/shops you use, where you got certain items (ex- used as preferences for offline Team activities (to buy things)...) * Various Alerts (Player activated) for flagged conditions, and a more generic event history listings (allows Player to easily review things that happened while not playing). * Spreadsheets for various business operations. This is based on standard operations so would automatically be availabe for Player to use to see the nitty-gritty bean-counting stuff. * Guiding/planning Team NPCs training (Players as well) - targeted skills, required training, activities to increase skill (like Player taking NPC on appropriate missions) . * An Equipment Assistant would have a list of specific equipment the Player wants/needs to use and tying-in to 'finder services' (NPC business specializing in arranging such deals) will routinely search for availability or opportunities to obtain such items, and alert the Player. (Ex- Diving Hardsuits are in demand and in short supply and probably can only be rented or use via a 'hired' NPC). '''= This System (being client based processing) would need a good backup/sync between server and client machine (and to Off-line handhelds). * There is alot of customization/configuration info that can be tedious to recreate so that would be saved in a data image transferable too the secure server (and reloaded between the different computers a Player might use). * All the specific info a Player accumulates might grow to be be a rather large personal database, and a secure server would maintain a copy of that. It would employ DB methods that prevent the whole huge thing having to be blasted thru network connections constantly (really only when there is a system failure or a new Client machine should this be needed). * The system would also include an update system to adjust information when the World changes. Ex- Automatic updating of map information to reflect mutating nature of the City (City map is constantly changing from Player actions). When a Player or his NPCs walk around they will notice the changes and the personal info will be adjusted (Hey, there is a new Coffee shop down the street where the coffee might not taste so fishy!! Remember to go there after work....) =''' Most of these interfaces would have annotation ability to allow Players to write short descriptions/notes to remind themselves why they are doing certain things, etc... * This annotation include multi-media capabilities like hyper-linking/associating map references, emails, character bios, etc.. for quick access of related information. '''= Summaries for all interfaces, which when activated open up more detailed information/configuration controls when desired. =''' Player Organizing of the interface itself (with position ordering and presentation preferences for the Cover Page) and to fit in with other communication interfaces (email, TV/Radio/Newspaper feeds). A Comment Box from your -- Team NPCs : * The boss could pay us more and the food could be alot better..... * I think I could use some training in Lockpicking, we wasted way to much time that last mission ... * This place we live in is pretty bad, even the rats moved out ... * Seriously, if this guy doesn't learn how to shoot straighter, he's going to get us all killed ... * Some of those City Missions are cakewalks, we could use the scratch to buy some better equipment ... * Research and training is fine, but when are we going to have a little excitement?? ... * What the heck was we thinkin', takin' on that Big Daddy last week, when we have enough trouble taking one lousy Splicer??? ... * Those shady characters across the hall are eyeing our stuff, when we gonna get one of those nasty burglar traps?? * This place could do with a coat of paint... And plenty more could be added via the Player Created Assets - note that there would be scripted logic to match the situation so that illogical comments don't get made for non-existing complaints. --- --- --- '''Experience point system for Player skills : Basic system is an Incremental percentile (lost of small increments) with increasing difficulty, slower advancement (many spills general and specific). Milestones for general level quantum 'achievements' Example list of similar system ( http://www.uoguide.com/Skills ) except this MMORPG has much more extensive list of skills). Players should be able to do most things 'moderately' with only a little 'trial and error' (may have middling abilities initially from 'life' experience' when starting). Equivalences for different skill areas ("overlaps" : ex - using a Hammer to fix things gives some arm-coordination for using a Club to brain a Splicer, or to break a Lock on a door) No Loopholes for 'too easy' advancement (some effort is required) The usual fast advancement at lower 'skill' and much harder towards the 'expert' skills levels. Skill level is enabler for additional solutions(versatility) and increased probable success for mundane actions Players are significantly above average compared to NPCs Skill cap ?? One person can only do so much (Player is supposed to be better than normal 'Joe' anyway), Employing/coordinating NPCs with complementary skills is the solution (and interesting aspect of game and a challenge to make the AI have competent NPC sidekicks). NPCs share a similar system for training as the Players have (and will advance by the same avenues and can be guided/planned for special skills, Players preferred way of playing). Advancing NPC Team size requires management/coordination skills development (once Player is outside of the 'out-patient' status of their Cure and have oriented themselves, one of the early 'missions' is to obtain a lackey/gopher to do tedious activities for the Player (even if they are initially a liability to try to go adventuring with). Some professional qualifying classifications require not just the skill level, but public demonstration of the skill in a standard test -- like City-qualified "Marksman" (with particular weapon) has a shooting qualification test - opens available 'jobs' (Missions) from the City who wishes to have its citizenry have adequate survival skills and a pool of skills that might be needed in an emergency. Civic Prestige Brownie points for doing these are an additional Player's incentive ..... --- --- --- --- --- . . .